


You Make Cold Nights Feel like Summer Days

by notalosechester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Beaches, Cute, Cute Dan Howell/Phil Lester, Dogs, Fluff, Friendship, Kinda, M/M, Meet-Cute, Short, Sweet, implied previous Dan/PJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-19 01:12:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15498978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notalosechester/pseuds/notalosechester
Summary: Dan is at the beach and gets hit by a stray ball which comes with a cute dog and an even cuter owner.





	You Make Cold Nights Feel like Summer Days

**Author's Note:**

> IM BACK IN BLACK wahoo. so this is a thing i wrote for my friend (hi Mackenzie!!) who wanted a Phan meet cute at the beach with a dog. disclaimer: i suck at writing (as i found out writing this) meet cutes. i can write decent smut and i can write some poems, but this i cannot. i also suck at writing things longer than a chapter so if things seem rushed, that's why. please bear with me and be patient with my amateur skills T^T the title was inspired by Summer Days by A R I Z O N A (the band not the state :P) and the mood or the feel of the whole thing was inspired by (since its all i listened to while writing this) Jungkook's I'm Listening to it Right Now playlist, and A R I Z O N A's album Gallery. on to the story!  
> Kay

“I think my back is burning.”

PJ shifted on his blanket next to him, making Dan grin.  
“Maybe you should have asked for a hand doing your back with sunblock huh?”  
PJ scowled and held the bottle out to him.  
“Please?” he puppy dog eyed him, making Dan laugh and put his phone down and kneeling by his side.  
“Okay, okay. You’re lucky you have such pretty eyes.” he said, taking the bottle. PJ stuck his tongue out at him, turning back onto his stomach to let Dan spread the cool lotion on his reddening back. He was lucky he could tan, otherwise the sun would have just burnt him to a crisp. Dan rubbed gently, trying not to press to hard to his now sensitive skin. 

He was so focused on making sure his best friend didn’t end up with skin cancer he didn’t notice the ball hurtling at his face until it was bouncing off it. He recoiled, like one does after getting smacked in the face by a damp, sandy ball. He fell back onto his butt and blinked rapidly, trying to recover from the smack he received. An eager corgi dove out of nowhere, scrabbling for the ball before deciding that Dan was more interesting. The dog proceeded to cover him with wet kisses, making him splutter and try and dodge the squirming furball.  
“What the-” he managed to fend off the wriggling pet, PJ sitting up to help pull the cute but excited dog away.  
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” a tall stranger came running from the edge of the water and leaned over to retrieve his dog. He clipped the leash onto his Star Wars collar and tugged him away from PJ who was giggling like a fool, the corgi lapping at his chin.  
“I have terrible aim.” Dan looked up and for a moment thought he would need to pull his sunglasses back down.

The stranger was beautiful. 

Pale, sun flushed skin, black hair mussed by wind and salt water, bright blue eyes that rivaled the ocean itself, and broad shoulders under a plain white shirt.  
“Oh-uhm yeah, I can tell,” he cringed internally at how croaky his voice sounded.  
“It’s fine, i suck equally at anything that requires hand-eye coordination.” the stranger gave a slightly shy laugh, and Dan’s heart bounced like the tennis ball had off his face.  
“No harm done.” he patted the corgi who had found the ball and snatched it up with a happy little yip.  
“I’ll let you go since your dog is too cute to hate.” he smiled up at the stranger who laughed for real. Dan was pretty sure he would have to go to a doctor now with all this heart bouncing.  
“Thanks. It’s pretty hard to be mad at such a cute face.” It really is, Dan thought, looking down at the sand, face burning. PJ gave him a side look, clearly trying to subtly make a comment on how social Dan was being with the good-looking ball thrower.  
“I’m PJ by the way, this is Dan. Who is this?” he said, a playful smirk on his face as Dan tried to signal to him to stop extending the time he would have to pretend to be interesting with this gorgeous stranger.  
“I’m Phil, and that’s Louie,” he said, running a hand briefly through his hair and making Dan’s heart stop. A doctor’s trip was in order, definitely.  
“Hi Louie!” PJ said, ruffling the pup’s ears and giving him a little peck on his moist nose. The dog yipped and attacked him with more wet kisses, dropping the ball.  
“So what brings you to the beach? Just holiday?” Phil asked, eyes warm and interested and Dan nodded.  
“PJ’s family has a beach house here and we decided to head down.” he patted Louie, his rattling emotions calming under the feel of his soft fur. Dogs were wonderful. Phil looked between them, noted their closeness and how PJ leaned into Dan to escape the eager love of the small dog.  
“Oh, are you guys-” he made a vague gesture, waving a hand around. Dan wanted to laugh at how cute it was, but was sidetracked by the implications of what he meant.  
“Oh god no!” PJ said, looking up at him, eyes wide. “No way, not in a million years.”  
Dan gave him a mock offended look.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” PJ smiled sweetly.  
“Well, I mean we used to be a thing, but things changed. We aren’t anymore. But he’s my bestest pal.”  
Phil looked a bit relieved although that might have just been Dan’s wishful thinking. PJ invited him to sit with them and chat, and so he did, plopping right next to Dan and making him wish the Earth would swallow him whole. They talked about themselves and what they did, what books they liked, what movies were good, about animals and favorite foods. Phil had such a wonderful laugh and a bright smile and his eyes were beautiful and Dan noticed that he had been compiling a mental list of all the things he liked about him already.

When they split ways and agreed to meet up again tomorrow, Dan found himself longing for the next day. They spent tons of time together, at the beach and at their house, and out getting drinks. Days passed and Dan felt himself slipping. They shared moments of soft glances and slightly tipsy cuddles and hours just talking, about nothing and everything.  
Dan felt like he was falling. Falling fast for Phil. 

Stop fooling yourself. He’s nice. Just enjoy his company. Don’t ruin it with your feelings. He could tell that PJ had noticed something, in his actions maybe, and was giving him a few side looks, but he ignored them. They got together in their usual spot and spent time sunbathing and talking, and ironically throwing the ball with Louie. After a while, Louie got a bit restless and PJ offered to take him for a walk. Dan and Phil sat there, taking in the setting sun and making little mounds of sand into shapes. Phil was talking about how he didn’t feel like he fit in at his job and that he wished he could pursue photography. The way he talked about it, his face lighting up as he talked about traveling and seeing different places and animals and how pictures made all that real for people in opposite places, and how he wanted to go but he couldn’t made Dan ask: “Why not?” 

Phil scrunched his nose, which Dan added to the list of things he loved- _liked goddamn it_ \- about him.  
“Well, I don’t have much money, and I’d have to take some classes, and my friends say it’s an unstable job.” Dan frowned. That sounded wrong. If his friends cared they would help, not hinder him.  
“Well, maybe you should try it, just to see.” Phil smiled as he made a mound into a fish. “I guess. I’m not very brave though.” Dan watched his slender hands as he pushed the sand around and he thought about what he said. He could relate to that, feeling too insecure to make a decision. But as he took in how the pink sky made Phil glow and his bright eyes were focused on the art he was making, and how perfect he looked, he realized he wanted to do it. He wanted to go for it, risk it all. If it meant that he had to suffer rejection to make sure he wouldn't regret never asking, he would do it.

Dan took a breath and took the plunge. 

He took Phil’s hand and looked him in the eyes. “If it’s something you love, isn’t it worth it?” Bluest blue eyes wide, Phil stared at him, and Dan felt his face turn hot and red. Sweet Jesus, he had wanted to avoid this the whole time and now look what he went and did. the cold fear that had clutched him at his first thought of saying anything even suggesting his interest in Phil returned like a bad dream. He let go of his hand, tracing patterns in the sand, trying to keep his eyes dry. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?.  
“Isn’t that what makes you brave? Being scared or worried, but going for it all the same?” Dan looked deeply into his eyes, feeling like his heart would burst out of his throat. Phil searched his face, and smiled a little.  
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” he said, his voice quiet. Suddenly, he surged forward, knocking Dan onto his back as he knelt between his legs and kissed him. Dan was so stunned that for a second his brain went blank. 

This is happening. Not just a fantasy. Not a dream. Real life.

And god was it better than he had imagined. 

Sure, he had thought about it, innocent thoughts turning sinful quickly, the more he thought of him. But it was never like this. He had such soft lips, warm against his, tasting of chocolate, and a little bit salty. He melted into it, his hand clutching Phil’s sleeve. The kiss wouldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, but they were the best seconds of Dan’s ironic and weird life. When they pulled apart to breathe, Phil laughed a little, his pink mouth now kiss swollen and Dan wanted to just do it all over again.  
“I’ve wanted to do that since i met you.” Dan sat up and looked him in the eyes. “I’m not sure I liked it. I need to do it again to make sure I can form an opinion on it.” He tugged Phil’s shirt collar and this time the kiss was deep and dark and full of promise.  
“Excuse me. Could you not make out on my towel? It’s only young.” PJ’s voice shattered the moment and Dan pulled away, laughing. Phil licked his lips as if to get one last taste of Dan, which made him feel heat coil in his abdomen. 

Being brave was paying off.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment and kudos! let me know if you have any requests for a fic you want to see, or if you just have a comment on my writing (good or bad, i need pointers!), or if you just want to hit me up for a convo on who is the best dancer in BTS, or how wonderful Astro's new album is, or about how beautiful Josh Dun is, follow me on Tumblr @notalosechesterawinchester (please love me i need validation in life), also follow my beautiful friend Mackenzie who suggested this story on the tumbs @philledwithphan, and check her out on Ao3 under stuckhereinthemiddlewithyou. have a wonderful week! <3  
> Kay


End file.
